


Tick off your boxes and pretend you aren't a monster

by ShyCourage



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Blood, M/M, Maxie has arthritis and needs knee braces because of chronic knee pain, Not bad it's just mentioned, Panic Attacks, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, a slight side of almost possession, because I say so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:27:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25684270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyCourage/pseuds/ShyCourage
Summary: Maxie has a panic attack and Archie helps
Relationships: Aogiri | Archie/Matsubusa | Maxie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 51





	Tick off your boxes and pretend you aren't a monster

**Author's Note:**

> Heed the tags and please stay safe! This is a vent fic largely based on how I personally experience panic attacks

Maxie may have some self destructive tendencies, but so what? So what, he goes out of his way to make the people he loves hate him, so what, he pushes everyone away? Maybe he just wants to start fights, maybe he enjoys being hated.

He caught himself. Spiralling. _Again? Really, Maxie?_

Okay, okay. Mental checklist. He could do that, he should do that. First check, where is he? He looked around, noting how small the walk-in closet was and that he hadn't turned on the light. His back was pressed against the door. 

Second check, his physical state. He was hyperventilating, and his veins were glowing orange. Perfect, his resident brain asshole is- _no, focus on the now. Stay in the physical world, Maxie._

Second check, starting over. He was still orange, and now hyperventilating more. His left hand was clutching at his chest and his right hand was picking at his upper lip. He was bleeding. He couldn't stop picking, so he at least relaxed his left hand.

Third check, what caused this? There was… There was a fight. Well, not a fight, but raised voices. It was between himself and Archie, and the moment Archie got loud Maxie ran. Maxie couldn't remember why, or what started it, so it really couldn't have been that bad.

He felt something wet fall on his left hand, so he reached up and touched his face. Revision to the second check, he was also crying. He would need to drink some water when he felt safe enough to leave.

He heard footsteps from outside of the door, so he moved to the other side of the closet (about half of a step forward) and sat facing the door, his knees drawn to his chest and his face hidden in his knees and behind a curtain of hair.

There was the sound of a throat being cleared, and then a soft voice called into the closet. "Hey, Maxie, two knocks if I need to leave, one if I should come in, and none if I should wait out here."

Okay, this was good. This was familiar. He knocked on the floor once, then pulled his left hand back as close to his body as he could, and waited.

The door opened slowly, creaking with every millimeter, and once it was open enough, Archie stepped in the closet as slowly as he opened the door. He made his way over to Maxie, kneeling beside him. "May I touch you?" he asked, knowing that the other man needed to be able to be in control, or else he wouldn't ever calm down.

Maxie nodded and allowed himself to be pulled into Archie, matching his breathing to the other's hand rubbing his back. Breathe in on up, breathe out on down. Breathe in, breathe out. 

"Hey, unclench your jaw. You'll just hurt yourself more." Archie waited until he did, and then kept whispering in Maxie's ear, things like "I'm sorry" and "hey, why aren't you wearing your braces" and "I love you," and it helped. It helped a lot.

After a while of that, Maxie calmed down enough to rearrange himself so he was leaning on his lover's shoulder, and without realizing it his hand had begun tracing the already fading orange lines on Archie's face. "'M sorry," he croaked out. He knew getting upset jostled Groudon into semiwakefulness, which pulled Kyogre into the same. He had let his emotions get out of control again, and it had its consequences.

"Hey, stop that, " Archie gently reprimanded, "it's not your fault. I know yelling sets you off, and I should have kept my cool, and I'm sorry for that, but it's over. We're calm, yeah? So once you're feeling ready to move we'll get you some water, and you'll take your arthritis meds, and then we're taking a nap. Unless you have any objections?"

Maxie shook his head. That sounded about like all he could see himself managing, anyway. But for now, they sat together, and they breathed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are welcome, but I'll have to ask the constructive criticism doesn't happen here, since this one is a bit really close to home


End file.
